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Tech Dreams to Change the Future of Afghan Girls

Roya Mahboob

CEO, Digital Citizen Fund

@RoyaMahboob, ​@DigitalCitizensF

Roya Mahboob is a serial entrepreneur and president of the Digital Citizen Fund, Bright Citizen (Coffee & Tea), and EdyEdy. The Digital Citizen Fund aims to increase women’s technological literacy and provide employment and educational opportunities for girls and children in developing countries like Afghanistan. Mahboob built #Digital Literacy with the goal of bridging the gap between education and job markets for women and youth by offering practical skills through her foundation. She sits on the advisory boards of the Forbes School of Business and Technology at Ashford University, the Resolution Project, and the Global Thinkers Forum. She is also part of the NewNow organization board.

Mahboob was named to TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2013 for her work in building internet classrooms in high schools in Afghanistan. Mahboob is the recipient of a 2014 Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award, Wonder Women, and the Advancement of Gender Equality through Education Award. She was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2015. She received an honorary doctor of science degree in engineering from McMaster University in 2018.

REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

Future economic stability depends on the workforce that will come from the young people of today. Future leaders in business and technology are being trained in schools around the world to grow and develop as scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs, following whatever life path they decide. Technology is a crucial part of their success and the avenue that they turn to when sharing their ideas with the world.

As a young girl, I grew up living in constant fear of the Taliban.

—Roya Mahboob

Gender bias starts with parents

Roya Mahboob talks about how Afghan girls often have no rights within families at the Council’s Women and Global Development Forum on March 8, 2018, in Chicago.

But even with the great advances that have been made to establish equal opportunities and gender equality around the world, developing nations and conservative countries still struggle in providing access to education and technology for girls. This is especially true for girls in rural areas of Afghanistan and similar conservative countries.

As a young girl, I grew up living in constant fear of the Taliban. They had taken away our books, and we had nothing to connect us with the outside world. I dreamed of a way that I could read and then make books disappear so that the Taliban could not find them. Because I was a girl, I was not allowed to access technology and never saw a computer for the first part of my life. But my dream was to talk to other people and understand the rest of the world. I knew that I could do great things if only given the chance.

One day, I saw a computer for the first time. I learned that this box could talk to the rest of the world. As I talked with people online—people who did not look down on me because I was a girl—I grew more confident. Supported by a father who believed in me, I went to school and then university and learned more and more about technology. When I decided to start my own tech company, it was the internet that allowed me to raise money and find investors who would support and believe in me.

Starting my own company was not easy. Working in the business world as a woman is not easy. Without the support of my father and others who believed in me, I may not be the woman I am today.

—Roya Mahboob

Starting my own company was not easy. Working in the business world as a woman is not easy. Without the support of my father and others who believed in me, I may not be the woman I am today. As I have worked with other woman and started the Digital Citizen Fund to give them training and access to technology and opportunities, I saw how rural girls and women have been empowered to live their dreams through technology. It is a way that they can earn money, support families, and change the economy of their cities and countries for good.

Building tech centers in Afghan schools

Roya Mahboob talks about how her company is bringing technology to girls in Afghanistan at the Council’s Women and Global Development Forum on March 8, 2018, in Chicago.

The Afghan Dreamers, the all-girls robotics team from Afghanistan that competed in the FIRST Global Challenge in the United States in July 2017, is a shining example of the success that rural girls can have in a society. These girls have represented their nations around the world in the face of discrimination and difficulty. Many rural girls who pursue dreams in business or technology do not have their family’s support. This makes life even more difficult for them. But when we saw the success of the robotics team’s breakthrough and how they won the hearts of Afghanistan and the world, we were inspired to start a STEAM school in Afghanistan. This school will draw young girls and boys from all over Afghanistan, allowing them to learn and access education that they do not have today. They will come from rural as well as suburban areas and will be the bright, shining light for the future of their country.

REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Eventually we hope to start a university similar to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Afghanistan to further the educational opportunities for our young people. We envision a world that sees Afghanistan not as a nation of terrorism, war, and poverty, but as a place full of young, bright minds who will be the next generation of entrepreneurs, leaders, and business owners.

Rural girls have just as much potential for success as any children around the world. The fact that they do not have access to the same education as other children is the reason the Digital Citizen Fund has built IT centers in Afghanistan and is working on the STEAM school for young girls and boys. It is my new dream that every child in Afghanistan, regardless of gender or the area in which they live, will have the same opportunities for success.

As technology continues to grow and businesses hire more young women for leadership positions, rural girls will gain a greater voice, be empowered to embrace their dreams, and advocate for themselves. The Afghan Dreamers robotics team has proved that change is possible and has shown the abilities of girls on the robotics team. Those girls are champions of a cause that will extend far beyond them to touch the lives of thousands in Afghanistan and around the world.

Rural households with electricity, mobile phones, and completion of secondary school by girls

Digital technology and electricity are spreading throughout the rural world, but rural girl secondary education rates are flatlining. When rural girls do not complete primary and secondary school, their ability to access the jobs of tomorrow will be curtailed.